Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
Another ‘Premium Lager’ for the already saturated Australian market, or is this a bloody Brootiful beer? Time to find out!
What started as a dream for Kent Grogan founder of Broo Ltd soon became a reality after quite a lot of beer drinking mixed with some serious thinking – not sure if those two really go well together. Late last year a unique share offer named Live The Dream was offered to the public. When this offer was first released it offered 10 shares in the company to anyone who purchased a carton of Broo beer online and after that supply was exhausted they then offered 10 shares in the company plus a carton of Broo for $55 which could be applied for via the Broo website. I myself bought 10 shares through this unique scheme as I’m sure a lot of others did. After its unique introduction had finished its course the beer was released to liquor stores nationally and since then the brand has grown stronger with the release of the online Broo merchandise shop. The company is all Australian and this can easily be seen by its branding & marketing.
This is positively another one of those ‘Premium Lagers’ which are so plentifully stocked on the shelves of your local 1st Choice. Broo Premium Lager clocks in at 4.6% alcohol per 330ml bottle and equates to 1.2 standard drinks. It pours a straw like yellow that is clear and moderately carbonated. There is a one finger white head that quickly recedes to leave no lacing. The smell is similar to all those other ‘Premium Lagers’ and resembles that aroma of your local pub, not real enticing in my books. The taste is dull and watery and could easily be sessioned if you so desire such a beer. I personally would take this beer over VB Raw, VB and XXXX but that in itself isn’t saying a whole lot.
I truly believe that what makes this beer special is the marketing and branding associated with it and if I could rate it on that alone it would get 5 out of 5. Other than that it doesn’t have a whole lot to offer except for perhaps a quaffing beer at your mates backyard pissup, coupled with the fact a carton goes for $45 at most stores.
Rating (out of five):
Quick Facts: 4.6% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Twist top
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Wednesday, September 7th, 2011
It’s been about four months since I reviewed my last Westmalle and that was the Tripel. This time round it’s the Dubbel which weighs in at a lighter 7% alcohol per 330ml volume.
Westmalle Dubbel is available year round at selected bottle shops and is slightly cheaper than the Tripel at around $7 a bottle but be wary when purchasing to check the best before date as a lot of these bottles seem to have sat around for a while. I need to make mention that the bottle I purchased & later reviewed here had a best before date of 24th February 2011 which was unknown to myself and is something I am in the process of chasing up with the supplier. Fortunately for me though this brew undergoes a secondary fermentation process inside the bottle and like most other Belgium beer does appear to get better with age. It is also available in 750ml bottles though I have yet to see one and they say it gives the beer ‘a more subtle aftertaste’ not that I found anything wrong with this at all.
It pours a massive flowing cream coloured head with tightly packed bubbles that slowly subsides to leave a lovely consistent coverage of lacing. The beer is a dark, rich-brown in appearance and allows no light to seep through. It is perfectly carbonated. The aroma is woody and almost oak-cask like and has wafts of dark fruit like that of a plum. The taste is filling and warming. It’s full of biscuit and toffee malts along with the dark fruit notes which are well blended together. A very pleasant beer to drink and one that I would like to try more of – though perhaps next time a bottle that hasn’t past its best before date.
Personally I found this brew more enjoyable & drinkable to its stronger relative the Tripel, probably due to the fact it was exceptionally smooth on all the senses. I highly recommend giving this Belgium a go, you won’t be disappointed – even if your bottled has passed its best before date!
Rating (out of five):
Quick Facts: 7.0% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Pop top
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Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
There must be something special floating around in the waters of New Zealand cause the brews coming our way from those dedicated Kiwi’s are amazing and this one is no exception!
8 Wired Brewing Co was created in 2008 by self-confessed beer geek, Søren Eriksen. Søren native to Denmark has a masters in biochemistry and is an assistant brewer for the Renaissance Brewing Company by day, while brewing his own brand 8 Wired during his spare time. 8 Wired currently contract brews all its beer through the Renaissance Brewery in Blenheim and in short this simply means they rent the brewing equipment from them but still produce their own beer. They currently have 10 different brews on offer including this one, with some only available on tap. You won’t find this brew at any major liquor outlets so to look for it at the independents like Archive’s Next Door Cellars in West End (QLD). A 500ml bottle of this delicious IPA (India Pale Ale) will cost you $13 and equates to 2.9 standard drinks. It comes wrapped in a basic looking leafy green coloured label, so keep an eye out for it as it doesn’t stand out from the crowd.
Hopwired IPA has a beautiful aroma, one that nearly fills up the room once opened. It’s massively fruity with noticeable notes of Mango along with some citrus tones. The smell is delightful & fresh and one I could sniff all day….not that a glass full would last anywhere near that long. It pours a cloudy dark orange with a two fingered cream coloured head that has decent retention and lacing. This is an exceptionally well balanced brew which comprises of three different types of hops and four different variations of malt. The bitterness comes on strong after swallowing and makes this beer ever so moorish. Fruity citrus notes are present on the palette, particularly that of lime and orange. The taste is smooth & fresh and is highly drinkable for 7.3% alcohol. It is an absolute pleasure to drink from start to finish.
Yet another amazing brew to come out of New Zealand and I recommend everyone sources themselves a bottle to try. I look forward to trying more from Søren in the not too distant future, well done 8 Wired!
Rating (out of five):
Quick Facts: 7.3% alcohol – 500ml brown bottle – Pop top
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Friday, July 22nd, 2011
Another day another Belgium!
Maredsous Blonde 6 was the Maredsous Abbey’s very first brew. The Abbey was founded in the late 19th century and the monks who live there follow the traditional rules of St Benedict. Originally this was brewed on the beautiful grounds of the Maredsous Abbey in Denée, Belgium. It now comes from the same brewery as one of my all-time favourites Duvel, the Duvel Moortgat Brewery. They also appear to share the same bottle as well. Maredsous Blonde 6 is actually a Belgian Pale Ale and the 6 stands for 6% alcohol per 330ml volume. Bottles aren’t easy to come by locally and I ended up buying mine online for $7.
This brew pours a big sticky, long lasting, fluffy white head that leaves lots of consistent lacing down your glass (very similar to that of Duvel) and it has a cloudy golden hue to it. The aroma is made up of wheat & biscuit malts and there’s a pleasant mild citrus smell with it. It tastes tart on the tongue and has a drying aftertaste. The biscuit malts come through to begin with and are followed by a burst of citrus & spice that quickly disappears when swallowed. It is exceptionally easy to drink but does not leave you wanting more like other Belgians do.
Maredsous Blonde 6 is a smooth, competent beer but unfortunately had nothing exciting to it. It has all the right aspects in appearance and smell but it needs more in the taste department as to me it seemed quite dull and lifeless.
Rating (out of five):
Quick Facts: 6% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Pop top
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Friday, July 15th, 2011
Moa Five Hop Winter Ale – A Very Rare Beer From Aotearoa and indeed it is along with the bottle size.
The brainchild of Josh Scott is the Moa Brewing Company which was founded in 2003 after years of brewing experimentation. It is situated on New Zealand’s South Island in the town of Blenheim, Marlborough. In case you were wondering the word Aotearoa shown above and on the bottle’s label is Maori for New Zealand. This brew is a blend of five Malts and Nelson Hops and has an alcohol content of 6.2% per 375ml bottle which will cost you $6.50. Now 375ml bottles aren’t very common in the beer world, especially this one. It has an abnormally wide neck adorned by an extra wide cap that my BottleMate wouldn’t fit around – a tragedy I know……well not really.
This beer pours with a mammoth, thick, cream coloured head which was absolutely beautiful and similar in stature to one of my all-time favourites Duvel. It left random bits of lacing and was toffee like in appearance. The beer was so murky you could not see light through it. Its aroma was crisp, made up of citrus notes along with a big hop hit. Again there was a big earthy hop hit on the palette which was well balanced with sweet caramel tones. It was well carbonated and had a decent bitterness to it. This ale was an absolute pleasure to drink.
Again New Zealand has really impressed me especially considering these brews are all coming out of well-known wine making regions. Moa Five Hop Winter Ale is a must try but as the label states it’s A Very Rare Beer so much so that the Moa website doesn’t even show it for sale in Brisbane – I can vouch for the fact that is in indeed sold here but you may have to look high and low to find it, so go get hunting!
Rating (out of five):
Quick Facts: 6.2% alcohol – 375ml green bottle – Pop top
| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | No Comments »
Friday, July 15th, 2011
Hawkes Bay Amber Ale, it has an awesome bottle but is far from an awesome brew.
Brewed & bottled in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand which is affectionately known as Wine Country. It is one of New Zealand’s leading wine producing regions and also is one of the direst & warmest. Hawkes Bay Independent Brewery is a privately owned company that sits on eight acres of apple Orchard and if you haven’t already guessed it they also make a range of ciders with some coming under the Kingston brand. One of the company’s goals is to ‘brew all beers ecologically sound by brewing locally and using the finest New Zealand ingredients’.
What initially inspired me to purchase this brew was the uniquely shaped green bottle, which has a protruding circle halfway down the front with the brewery’s logo marked on it and can be seen pictured above. When first poured there was a small off-white head that rapidly disappeared and left no lacing. It has a deep amber colour and appeared slightly cloudy. There was very subtle aroma to this brew, some honey notes were present and otherwise pleasant. The taste was mild and disappointing and at 4% alcohol per 330ml bottle it could have been better. There was no bitterness nor rich malt body as the brewers website states and to me was watery and plain boring on the palette and certainly wasn’t worth its asking price of $7 a bottle.
For $7 a bottle I expected a whole lot more from this brew and the distinctive bottle was definitely a mask for what was inside. So if you’re a collector of unique bottles then I would give one a go but if you’re a seasoned beer drinker I would take a pass on this one.
Rating (out of five):
Quick Facts: 4.0% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Pop top
| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
Meet the Hopinator, part beer part something else.
Hopinator is a DIPA which stands for Double India Pale Ale. DIPAs are generally speaking a strong, extra hoppy style of pale beer and they are also known as Imperial IPAs. This type of beer should normally contain high amounts of hops and malt as well as having an alcohol content somewhere around 7% per volume. They also should have a high bitterness to them or IBU (International Bitterness Units) scale, somewhere in the vicinity of 60+ IBUs. This brew has both and rates in at 7% alcohol and 68 IBUs per volume.
Hopinator pours dark amber in colour with little to no head and there was noticeable sediment in the bottom of my glass. It has a rich malty aroma full of toffee & caramel as well as some grapefruit tones up front. I found the alcohol came across too strong in this brew which was off putting. The smooth malts could be easily tasted on the palette and there was a pronounced bitterness but not so much as I was expecting for a DIPA. It also seemed under carbonated in my opinion. What surprised me most was that is seemed to be missing its catch phrase, HOPS! This brew was enjoyable but certainly not sessionable.
This is the second brew from the Holgate Brewhouse that I have reviewed, with the first being Temptress. Unfortunately for me though it has also come second to Temptress as I found it to be missing what the label and name so proudly displays, hops. Try it for yourself, maybe you will find what I didn’t in the Hopinator.
Rating (out of five):
Quick Facts: 7.0% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Pop top
| Posted in Beer Reviews, India Pale Ale | No Comments »
Monday, July 4th, 2011
A traditional Czech-style beer made with imported Czech yeast and it’s brewed in Cairns, North Queensland.
Blue Sky Pilsner is hand crafted by the Blue Sky Brewery which currently operates a 10 hectolitre system, comprising of sixteen tanks and sources its brewing ingredients from all over the world – in this case the Czech Republic. They also have many eco-initiatives in place one of them being that they harvest and re-use brewing yeast up to 10 times – being a home brewer I’m not exactly sure how this is done but I would love to find out. The brewery offers regular tours to the public during the day at $12 per adult, more details can be found here.
Like most Pilsners this one is crisp and truly refreshing. It’s not real hoppy or bitter just smooth and there seems to be slight banana tones to it. It pours a clear yellow colour with great carbonation and leaves rings of lacing down your glass. Mine had a two finger bubbly white head. Unfortunately though there was no discernable smell from this brew, which to some (ladies perhaps) may be appealing. It checks in at 4.5% alcohol and 1.2 standard drinks per 330ml bottle. A six-pack will cost you an easy $14.99 and it’s stocked at most alcohol stores.
Blue Sky Pilsner definitely makes for a refreshing brew and one that would be well appreciated on a hot day or after a hard day’s work. It would also make for an excellent session beer as it’s highly drinkable and when you couple this with the fact it has no preservatives and the price per six-pack, it’s a win-win scenario.
Rating (out of five):
Quick Facts: 4.5% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Pop top
| Posted in Beer Reviews, Pilsner | No Comments »
Monday, July 4th, 2011
Wasp is a funny name for a brew that is full of honey, so full that I can still smell it on the empty bottle.
Wasp is a Honey Pilsner that is brewed by the Invercargill Brewery in New Zealand. It is comprised of two types of hops; Pacific Gem and Motueka and flavoured with (I would have to think) a rather substantial amount of Kamahi honey, which is light amber in colour and full of rich complex flavours. The Invercargill Brewery has been in operation since 1999 and is the proud achievement of father and son team Gerry & Steve Nally. Since then they have created many unique hand crafted brews and cider, most of which are available year round with some being limited speciality brews. Wasp was created in December of 2008 as a new take on an old favourite of the brewery.
Honey honey honey! They were the first words I uttered after having a mouthful of this brew. It starts off hitting you with a big sweet, floral honey aroma that is accompanied by a crisp and refreshing taste. The mouth feel of this brew is almost creamy and viscous like honey is when eaten from a spoon. Again the honey is very much present in the taste along with some mild citrus tones from the hops and in general is quite sweet on the tongue. It pours a cloudy golden hue with low carbonation and a quick dissipating white head that left no real lacing on my glass. Short of travelling to New Zealand, you will most likely have to buy this beer from an independent bottle shop or directly from the Brewery’s website.
While Wasp packed a big honey flavour and aroma I didn’t think it had much else on board. It would make for a refreshing summer time brew and a must try for any honey lover.
Rating (out of five):
Quick Facts: 5.2% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Pop top
| Posted in Beer Reviews, Pilsner | No Comments »
Monday, June 27th, 2011
“Our New Zealand Pale Ale is a welcome assault on the senses” – this is true but it assaulted some of my senses more so than others.
Croucher Pale Ale comes from that little part of the world known as New Zealand and to be more accurate the town of Ngongotaha, Rotorua. It is brewed and bottled by the Croucher Brewing Company which began its brewing journey in 2004 and was the dream of Paul Croucher who has since made this dream quite the reality. The company has three mainstream craft beers, this Pale Ale, a Bohemian Pilsner and The Hef a German Hefeweizen styled beer. Along with these they also have a plethora of seasonal brews including the popular Patriot, which is an American Black Ale and one I would like to try some day if I can get my hands on it.
This Pale Ale poured with a dense head of fluffy off-white bubbles that was nearly three fingers thick and receded gradually to leave specks of lacing on my glass. It came out a lovely reddish amber and had a big fruity aroma which had noticeable tropical notes to it, most likely passionfruit. It was extremely fragrant and pleasant on the nose but, unfortunately I didn’t think that this big aroma was transferred to the taste buds very well. It was clean, crisp and refreshing with a lingering clean bitterness but only had slight hints of those tropical tones that were so evident on the nose.
All in all this was a pleasant brew that was exceptionally easy to drink and would make for an excellent session beer. It also would make a great brew for a newcomer to the style of a Pale Ale. I honestly do think though that it just needed that extra little kick on the palate side of things, other than that nice work Croucher Brewing Company.
Rating (out of five):
Quick Facts: 5.0% alcohol – 500ml brown bottle – Pop top
| Posted in Beer Reviews, Pale Ale | 1 Comment »